 The Ground Game
The owners of the Arizona Cardinals are doing their part to reshape Glendale
By Tom Gibbons
The University of Phoenix Stadium, home of the Arizona Cardinals, rises 206 feet above grade at its highest point. But the family that owns the Cardinals has plans to make another mark across Glendale’s skyline. If successful, the impact will be felt at the ground level as well.
Led by Cardinals President Michael Bidwill, the family is involved in a mixed-use project called cbd 101 on 77 acres just south of the University of Phoenix Stadium. The plans include a 35-story tower with residential, office and hotel space.
Glendale Mayor Elaine Scruggs believes cbd 101’s impact could be greater than just a memorable architectural feature.
“It could transform the whole West Valley,’’ she says.
The West Valley lacks job centers, and as a result, residents there are more likely than others in the Metro area to commute to Central Phoenix or even the East Valley in order to get to work. It is the hope of cbd 101 backers and Scruggs that the development will provide the setting for a major employment center for the area.
As Bidwill and Michael Rushman, the Cardinals development representative on the stadium project, became more familiar with the area, they saw a need and an opportunity.
“We just thought it would be better for everyone from a stand point of the environment, as well as congestion on the freeways,’’ Rushman says.
The centerpiece of cbd 101 — the initials stand for central business district — is a 10-acre organic farm.
“The West Valley has long been the bread basket of the area,’’ Rushman says. “The fields that everyone has taken for granted are going to be gone. We wanted to pay tribute to that.”
Rushman says they decided against using desert landscaping for the project’s open space, such as one would often see in north Scottsdale.
“It hasn’t been that way here for generations,’’ he says.
They took inspiration for the organic farm from the Farm at South Mountain, a one-time pecan ranch that is now the site of restaurants and grounds, and a popular spot for weddings. The agricultural component will include a public market and fruit orchards.
“A lot of times, open space is merely ceremonial,’’ Rushman says, adding that this would be a working farm visitors could wander through.
At press time, the cbd 101 project was going before the Glendale Planning Commission. The next step would be hearing before the full Glendale City Council.
If all goes well, Rushman says, there would be about nine months of infrastructure work. The first “vertical building’’ would probably occur in the first quarter of 2009. The project would be built in several phases, with the large office tower coming near the end.
The nearby area is already booming with a series of high-end developments.
Last summer, the Urban Land Institute chose 95th and Glendale avenues as one of the 10 hottest areas in the Valley for growth and development. Among the other projects in the area are:
• Westgate City Center, the Ellman Companies’ entertainment, shopping and residential district, which is expected to have 6.5 million square feet at build out.
• The Zanjero projects located immediately north of Westgate City Center. These include Zanjero Falls Corporate Oasis and the Districts at Zanjero, which will have hotels, residential and retail.
 • Main Street on the west side of the Loop 101 freeway. The Phoenix-based RightPath Limited Development Group has assembled 500 acres for a mixed-use project next to the new spring trainingcomplexes for the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago White Sox.
www.azcardinals.com
www.westgateaz.com
www.glendaleaz.com
www.rightpathlimited.com
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